


let's get married

by deathboytm



Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Genre: Cass and Harley mention, F/F, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, are they gay and soft? yes, do i know what this is? no
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24820582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathboytm/pseuds/deathboytm
Summary: Helena knew what her parents plan for marriage for her had been. A nice, approved of man. But that never happened, and Helena finds marriage can finally be what it was meant to be. A devotion to love.
Relationships: Helena Bertinelli/Dinah Lance
Comments: 7
Kudos: 100





	let's get married

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to i listened to mitski's let's get married cover and decided to write just about 3k words cause of it. this is a mess and a half but they r gay!!!

Light hit Helena’s eyes, shining through the slight opening in the blinds, and the first thing she really registers is the warmth pressed into her side. She blinked a couple times, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and the first thing she sees is Dinah. 

Dinah, still asleep, her lips parted slightly, looking unfairly pretty after the rough night they had last night trying to take down Gotham’s newest dipshit with a superiority complex. 

Helena knew what the expectations from her parents when it came to her future were from a young age. She would grow up, her parents would set her up with a family friend's son, they’d get married in a big church and they’d have kids that would one day take over as the head of the Bertinelli family.

She was 27 now, and if things had gone as planned she’d have her first child by now, on her way to her second one. But they hadn’t gone to plan, and her parents hadn’t been there to see through with their plans for her. 

Instead she was 27 and a vigilante and she’d had a girlfriend for a year and she was pretty much everything her parents would have hated her being. She was not sophisticated, she was rough around the edges by all means and the thought of spending her days living in a big house with a husband made her want to throw up. 

She wouldn’t want her life to be any other way, and as much as she hates to think it, she knows she wouldn’t have what she does if her parents had been there.

The idea of not spending her days with Renee and Dinah, and sometimes Harley and Cass as well, of not spending her nights fighting side by side with Renee and Dinah and ending up packed into a booth at a bar with them at ungodly hours, of not going to bed with Dinah and waking up with her like now, made her feel sick. 

These were her people, even with as long as it took her to adjust to having people.

Dinah stirred, her eyes fluttering open, and she blinked sleepily as she looked up at Helena with a soft smile.

“Goodmorning.” Her voice had that just-woke-up raspy quality, and Helena could never get enough of it.

“Goodmorning.” Before Dinah, Helena had certainly never been a very soft and gushy kind of person, but it was hard to not have it rub off on you when you’re waking up with the most beautiful woman in the world every morning. So here she was, smiling back at Dinah like a dopey idiot. 

Marriage was something Helena had a lot of weird feelings about. Growing up she always looked at it as something that was never really her choice, as it really wasn’t with the path she was on. A nice traditional marriage was what came with being a Bertinelli, and it was always something more out of business than love to her. 

But now marriage would be something entirely different. She was free to marry whoever she wanted. It could be something that actually meant something, a devotion to love. After the last year, she was starting to get the appeal. She wanted to make that promise to Dinah, to spend the rest of their lives together, side by side. 

She wanted to marry Dinah Lance.

* * *

“Do you ever think about marriage?” 

It was the afternoon, they had just gotten back from a meeting at the’ warehouse to get more details from Renee about their newest ‘mission’ so to speak, and Helena sat on the counter as she watched Dinah make herself a late lunch.

“What?” Dinah glanced up from the toast she had been spreading a thin layer of mayo on, her eyes a bit wide.

“I just, um,” Helena took a deep breath. “Do you ever think about us, like, getting married?” 

“I mean,” Dinah stepped away from the counter to drop the knife she had been using in the sink. “Yeah, a little. Do you?” 

“Yeah, I do.” Helena watched as Dinah laid some lunchmeat onto one of the slices of bread. 

“And?” Dinah raised an eyebrow. 

“And, I think that’s something I’d… want to do. I know so.” 

“Yeah?” Dinah’s grin was big, a glint in her eye. 

“Yeah.” And she couldn’t help but smile back.

Dinah left her sandwich prep station, resting her hands on Helena’s knees and stepping between them. “I wanna marry you too.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” And Dinah leaned in to capture her lips with her own, smiling into it as she ran her hands up to rest on Helena’s hips. She pulled back after a moment, resting her forehead against Helena’s. “I expect an official proposal though, Bertinelli.”

* * *

“How the fuck do you propose to somebody?”

“Jesus,” Renee hissed, flinching. She looked up to glare at Helena. “Can you stop being so fuckin’ sneaky?” 

“I just entered the room.” 

“Yeah, well you scared the shit outta me.” 

“Sorry. Anyways,” Helena pulled a chair up next to Renee’s desk as Renee rolled her eyes. “How do you propose to somebody?”

“You’re proposin’ to Dinah?” Renee raised an eyebrow. 

“Maybe.”

“Ya know I got shit to do here,” Renee gestured to the papers on her desk. “I don’t have to talk to you about this.” 

“Okay, fine, yes, I’m-” Helena glanced at the doorway, making sure Dinah was nowhere to be found. “I’m proposing to Dinah. But, I don’t really know… how.” 

Renee sighed. “Well, what, do you want it to be like, a big thing?”

“I don’t know.” Helena shrugged. “Maybe? Would she like that?”

Another sigh. “She’s  _ your  _ girlfriend.” 

“Yes but I’m- well, me.” 

“Fair point. Look, Dinah doesn’t really seem like the type to want a whole big thing. In fact, she might kick your ass if you drew too much attention about it. Just, ya know, make her some dinner or something and give her a little speech or some shit.”

“Okay,” Helena nodded. “I think I can do that.”

“Just…” Renee trailed off, mulling something over. “Just don’t stress too much about it, alright? She loves you. She wants to marry your tall awkward ass, for whatever reason.” 

“Thanks.” Helena said dryly. 

“I mean it though. She’s like, painfully in love with you. It’ll be fine.” 

Helena nodded a bit, standing and putting the chair back in it’s rightful place. More genuine this time, “Thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now get the fuck outta here, I got shit to do.”

* * *

They got limited days off in all the chaos of trying to clean up Gotham, but today was one of the few days they didn’t have any dickheads to put a stop to. 

Dinah was out with Cass, seeing a movie and according to Dinah’s text they had stopped to look at a couple shops, which was perfect because Helena was starting to think she wouldn’t have enough time to get everything done. 

She had some experience cooking from the years in Sicily, but that was mostly very basic stuff, as the diet of the men that had taken her in, which she adopted too, wasn’t exactly fancy. She’d been interested in cooking though, and in the last year started experimenting. 

She’d tried some Sicilian dishes and even some that she remembers her mother making in her childhood, but tonight she was trying a new cut of steak. Dinah and her had tried it once at a restaurant, one of the nights Helena decided to put her fortune to use to treat Dinah for a night, and they had both really liked it. 

Hanger steak, the cut was called, and it was very tender and flavorful, and supposedly a bit easier to prepare than some other cuts. This was proving about true, and things were going pretty smoothly. 

She got the text from Dinah that she was on her way home just when she was most of the way through the potatoes for on the side, which gave her roughly twenty minutes to make sure everything was ready. 

By the time Dinah was going to be home any minute, she had the plates garnished as well as she could and the table set, topping it off with one of Dinah’s candles from the bedroom. It looked pretty nice, she thought. She’d pretty much nailed the vibe she was going for. 

She was lighting the candle when she heard the door open, and she nearly jumped out of her skin as she rushed to put the lighter away. 

“Babe?” Dinah appeared in the entrance to the kitchen, eyes scanning over the table. “What’s all this?” She asked, a smile spreading on her face as she set down the couple shopping bags she was holding. 

“Uh,” Helena hovered next to the table. “I just uh, wanted to make a nice dinner for us. For you,”

“Babe,” Dinah cooed, entering the kitchen to wrap her arms around Helena’s shoulders. “This is so sweet.” 

“Yeah well I, uh, I tried.” Just over a year into their relationship, and she still was far from smooth.

“It looks amazing,” Dinah unwrapped herself from Helena, looking over the table again.

“Let’s eat.” Helena walked around the table, pulling Dinah’s chair out for her. A bit smoother, but only a little. 

Dinah went with it though, smiling as she slid into the chair. “Why thank you.” 

Helena took a deep breath as she walked back around the table, sliding into her own chair, trying to not let the anxiety that had been building all day boil over. When she was finally sat across from Dinah, seeing the way she was looking at her, she could tell Dinah knew exactly what was going on, and she didn’t know if that made it easier or harder for her. 

“So, what do we got here, chef?” Dinah asked, looking over her plate, and Helena could see excitement building inside her. Harder, Helena thinks. Her knowing makes it harder.

Helena looked over her own plate, swallowing thickly. “Do you remember that steak cut we tried at that restaurant a while back?”

“Is this it?” Dinah pointed to her plate, and her eyes looked like they were sparkling and her dimples were on full display and Helena couldn’t help but feel a bit proud of herself. 

“Yep,” Helena grinned as well, “I went out and got some cause I wanted to try out making it and I thought it’d be, you know, nice.” 

“It is. This is all really nice, H.” Dinah’s eyes were so soft and her whole reaction to all of this was all the reaffirmation that Helena wanted to do this that she needed. 

“Thank you.” She felt a bit sheepish then, looking back at her plate. “There’s uh, sauteed potatoes and vegetables too. Some zucchini, bell peppers, shallots and stuff,” 

Helena relaxed a bit as they ate, talking as they normally did, but the fact that they both knew exactly where this was headed still hung over them. Every smile from Dinah, every soft brush of their hands across the table, every compliment to her cooking, held weight. 

As dinner was about wrapped up, Helena began to go over her speech, which she had planned earlier in the mirror, as she did most things, in her head. She knew the points she wanted to hit. She would open with something about how her view on marriage has changed, and she’d talk about how Dinah has helped her change for the better in the last year, and she’d tell Dinah how much she loved her and then she’d ask. She’d ask Dinah to marry her, officially. 

This is it. After a dinner of knowing glances and a whole afternoon of anxiety, it was finally time.

She watched Dinah finish the last of her potatoes. “So,” she took a deep breath and then Dinah was looking up at her, and she seemed to register that  _ this  _ was it, her eyes glinting. “When I was a kid-”

Dinah’s phone, which was suddenly the worst noise Helena had ever heard, rang out. “Shit,” Dinah hissed in annoyance, digging her phone out and looking at the caller ID. “Fuck,” she muttered, taking the call. 

The call was short, a couple things from Dinah like ‘are you kidding me?’ and ‘right now?’. Then she was hanging up and rising from the table. “It’s fucking Renee, apparently she just got a tip about some shitheads meeting up in an hour. Some drug deal.” 

Helena was pretty much always up to fuck some dick for brains assholes up, but right now? Of all times? They couldn’t do this another night? Maybe tomorrow, when she’s happily and officially engaged?

Helena grumbled a couple swears under her breath, rising too and taking the plates to the sink and blowing out the candle before going with Dinah to their room to gear up. 

“I’m sorry we got interrupted,” Dinah said, zipping her jumpsuit, watching as Helena was securing her array of weapons on her person. 

“Not your fault,” Helena sighed, grabbing her mask. “Let’s just get this shit over with.” 

* * *

The drug bust went sloppy at best. There were a couple close calls, too many for comfort, and Helena’s probably lucky she wasn’t leaving the place with a couple bullet wounds. They’d secured the cargo, at least, but somewhere in the chaos of taking out henchmen the boss man had gotten away. They typically involved the police as little as possible, but in situations like these they didn’t really know what to do other than leave the couple crates with them. 

When her and Dinah got home, it was late, and her muscles were sore and she dreaded getting out of all her gear. Sleeping with like eight different weapons strapped to you probably wasn’t the best idea though. 

They fell into bed together pretty much just in their underwear, too tired to care about changing into pajamas, and as Helena’s heavy eyelids fell shut she remembered dinner, and the interruption, but she was drifting off before she really had time to think about it. 

* * *

There was the light again, shining through the slit in the blinds, hitting her eyelids. The warmth then, pressed against her side. She blinked a couple times, and there was Dinah, an arm slung over Helena’s torso and her face pressed against her neck. 

Helena remembers last night then, the time spent making dinner, and then the dinner, and then the interruption, and she felt the ping of annoyance from last night again. She had been right about to ask. She was gonna give her healthily planned through speech and then Dinah would say yes and they’d eat the ice cream Helena had bought, and it’d be good. 

Stupid fucking Gotham criminals.

Dinah was stirring then, and Helena felt the annoyance melt away, replaced by a warmth in her chest. Dinah lifted her head, opening her eyes slowly, and they met Helena’s. 

“Hi,” 

“Hello.” 

Dinah smiled softly, a bit sleepy, and nuzzled back into Helena. The feeling of adortion that washed over Helena was nearly overwhelming, and it all reminded Helena of the morning she’d really decided she wanted to promise to spend the rest of her life with Dinah. 

It was all for moments like these, these mornings waking up together, even after they had had a rough night of vigilantism, where they could just be together. 

Helena turned more so on her side, facing Dinah and tangling their legs together as she threw an arm around her middle, pressing against her. Dinah hummed contently, and they laid like that for a while. 

And maybe it was the fact that she was still partially asleep, or the deep ache she felt in her chest, or both, but she couldn’t help but start speaking, almost a whisper. “Our wedding could be pretty big y’know. We have the funds,” 

A beat, and the Dinah was tracing little circles on Helena’s arm with her finger, matching her tone as she said, “Yeah?” 

“Yeah. Might not be a point though. We’d only have like three guests.” 

Dinah giggled, soft and light. “Four, if you count bruce.” 

“Right, how could I forget about the hyena.” She searched Dinah’s face for a moment, something heavy hanging in the air. “I do wanna get dressed up for you though. Buy a stupid fancy suit.”

“You’d look adorable in a stupid fancy suit.” And then Dinah’s hand was cupping her cheek. 

Helena leaned into the touch, shutting her eyes. Helena had spent a lot of time protecting herself, relying on only her, and she had never felt safer than in this moment with Dinah. To be able to feel this made it all worth it. 

“You make me feel safe.” A soft whisper. Helena opened her eyes, Dinah’s intent gaze instantly hitting her, her chest tightening. Then Dinah kissed her, or maybe she kissed Dinah, she wasn’t totally sure, but it didn’t matter because she felt like something was blossoming in her chest. 

It felt the same way it did the first time, the way it always did, and Dinah’s lips fit so nicely against hers and somewhere their hands found each other and their fingers laced together. 

Then Helena pulled back, only a little, their lips still brushing slightly. “Will you marry me?” 

“Yeah, yes,” and Helena connected their lips again, rolling them over so she was hovering over Dinah. 

“Sorry it’s not the dinner and a speech I planned.” Helena muttered against her lips when she pulled away again.

“That’s okay. This is good. Perfect,” Dinah draped an arm around her neck, smiling into it as she kissed her again, and again, and again. 

And it was. It was better than it may have been last night. Because it was just them, and the way Dinah made her feel. Safe, warm, and loved. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! let me know what u think 
> 
> writing smthn thats not hsau was kinda wack, i do wanna do more stuff like this once hsau is over though!


End file.
